A veritable who’s who of American poets, many hailing from New York, read their favorite poems by Charles Reznikoff and others, during a memorial for the late Jewish American poet, author, and playwright. Those marking the passing of the first of the Objectivist poets include, Allen Ginsberg, Ron Padgett, Joel Oppenheimer, Anne Waldman, Armand Schwerner, Charles North, and many others. The poems they have selected represent the incredible range of Reznikoff’s writings, from one line mediations on a bridge to excerpts from book length poems about the Jewish Holocaust. Written in the clear plain language that was a hallmark of the Objectivist poets this reading serves as a fitting memorial to a quintessential American poet of the 20th century, whose “brightness dwindles into stars.”

Note: All poems by Reznikoff except where noted. The attribution of these poems is based on the 2005 edition of “The Poems of Charles Reznikoff” edited by Seamus Cooney. Certain poems have been renumbered from their original publication and this has been indicated when possible.

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